Atlas and Future

[avratdwc]

Hey everyone, hope all is well. I am posing a question that I would appreciate some opinions on. A very good friend of mine has major ties with Atlas on the flight ops side and he is posing to me that I try and get a job with Atlas thru him sitting the panel and maybe moving into the right seat after time eventhough the risk of there future is very high in regards to all the problems they are facing. I would love to take the job with the prospect of gaining alot of experience and seeing alot of the world. What do you folks think about this. I am also interested to hear if anyone thinks Atlas will come thru with time and return to the way they were. Can Polar only get so big before Atlas can start getting back into shape? I would appreciate some info. Thanx!!!!!

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

I spoke with a friend of mine at Polar today and was chatting about getting on either there or Atlas. He told me right now Polar is almost under water with work and are trying to get more planes. He also said Atlas was floundering with NO work and it seemed to him that Holdings was looking at tying the whole thing together into one operation. His guess. Just info......

 

[Miami Freight]

It is unlikely that Polar and Atlas will merge operations very soon. Polars routes into NRT and their fifth freedom rights in Hong Kong are tied to their certificate. If the certificate is nullified the routes get put up for rebid. I'd expect UPS or Fedex to pay handsomely for these rights. Polar is moving their corporate headquarters to the same building as Atlas in Purchase, NY next week. It should be transparent to the operations side of the house. They are merging administrative functions such as HR.

I'd be skeptical of any report on Atlas loads that come from a Polar pilot as well as reports on Polar from Atlas.

 

[GCD]

I have been in the Atlas Air pilot pool since March 2001.

I finally got a call in mid November, asking if I could be in class on the 6th of January this year. About two days after Christmas I got word that classes had been postponed again. So, no classes for now and possibility of furloughs are the rumor.

I see that Linda Chowdry will become Chairman on 1 April. Hopefully, she will do something to turn things around.

Until then, I'll be flying for peanuts as a CRJ FO, with a B747 type rating. Life is wonderful. At least I have a job.

 

[CCDiscoB]

Why

Until then, I'll be flying for peanuts as a CRJ FO, with a B747 type rating.

I don't get it. It seems many operators are looking for pilots with a 747 type rating. Why are you flying RJs with a type rating like that? I would think you'd be flying 74s for some foreign company until Atlas called. But then again, I don't know much. Personally I’m looking for a company to teach me to fly the 747.
LOL....that's funny....not paying for my own type rating...

 

[GCD]

I was flying the B747 in the Pacific for a foriegn operator. LOL, someone else did pay for my type rating.

I had unfortunate timing trying to change over to Atlas in 2001. I'm not going into another contract because they range from 6 months to 6 years, and have heavy non-completion penalties. Unlike U.S. operators, they really do come after you to pay up.

Get it. now?

Also, I'm not being condescending about flying the CRJ. I really mean it. Life is good because I have a flying job, and the CRJ is sweet to fly. Actually, we don't fly for peanuts since the airlines got away from them. We fly for pretzels, now!

 

[avratdwc]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was wondering if anyone else may have any insider info as to whether Holdings will bring the two (ie Atlas and Polar) together so all the routes will stay within the company? What are the working conditions like at Atlas, I personally am looking to get some good experience and keep on the road. Thanx in advance!!!! Cheers

 

[Miami Freight]

As far as the gurus I talk to know there is no way to merge the certificates of the companies and keep the Asian rights. They could: A. Bankrupt Polar to make Atlas look good. B. Bankrupt Atlas to save Polar. C. Kill both airlines for veal and go strictly to a dry lease company. D. Bulld the most dominate heavy lift company in the world where all of the pilots get paid like professional athletes. They could let us strike and hire scabs. They could do a lot of things but no one has a crystal ball. We just show up for work, move the planes and try to make them stick with the contract.

As far as a good place to work. Make no mistake 16-18 days on the road straight can be tough on the body, mind and family. But so can those 14-16 days off in a row. You have to adjust to the lifestyle. I'm just happy one of the big three didn't hire me in the past three years. In this time of economic doldrums any seat is a good seat.

I wouldn't expect Linda C. to be a savior. She's been on the board all along so this is not a big change.

 

[reepicheep]

Speaking of Polar, any idea when the next round of interviews will be?

And have they moved the pilot recruitment functions out of LGB to NY yet?

 

[GCD]

Miami...good perspective on what the company can do.

I didn't mean to imply the Linda C. was going to be the savior. I just hope something will happen for the good after 1 April. Well, before then, if possible.